President Trump Says Probe Will Prove No Collusion Between Campaign, Russia

President Donald Trump says a thorough investigation will confirm what he says is already known: that there was no collusion between his presidential campaign and any foreign entity.

Trump commented late Wednesday after the Justice Department announced the appointment of former FBI director Robert Mueller to oversee the probe into Trump-Russian connection in the 2016 election.

Trump says In a written statement that he looks forward to "this matter concluding quickly."

"As I have stated many times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know - there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity," President Trump said in a short statement. "I look forward to this matter concluding quickly. In the meantime, I will never stop fighting for the people and the issues that matter most to the future of our country."

He also pledges to never stop fighting for the people and issues that are important to the country's future.

The Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel to oversee the federal investigation.

Earlier, the White House says President Trump will be interviewing four potential candidates to lead the FBI, including former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer says Trump will be meeting later Wednesday with Lieberman, former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, FBI acting director Andrew McCabe and Richard McFeely, a former top FBI official.

The meetings come more than a week after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. The president has suggested he hopes to name Comey's successor before he departs Friday for his first overseas trip as president.

Spicer spoke aboard Air Force One following Trump's remarks at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut.

Earlier, the Republican chairman of a House oversight committee said he will ask former FBI Director James Comey to testify at a hearing next week that will look into whether President Trump pressured Comey to shut down an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz said in a tweet Wednesday that he still hasn't spoken with Comey about testifying. But he has set a hearing for May 24.

The moves comes a day after it was disclosed that Comey had written a memo detailing how Trump had asked him to shut down the investigation into Flynn. The FBI has been looking into Flynn for months as part of a counterintelligence investigation.

Chaffetz has demanded that the FBI turn over Comey's memos. He says he wants to determine whether the president attempted to influence or impede the FBI's investigation into Flynn.

Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California sent the letter to the Justice Department and the White House on Wednesday. They called on the White House "to provide records of interactions with former Director Comey, including any audio recordings."

The committee said Wednesday that it is also asking Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe to give the committee any notes that Comey might have made regarding discussions he had with White House or Justice Department officials about Russia's efforts to influence the election.

Comey wrote a memo after one February meeting at the White House stating that President Donald Trump had asked him to shut down the FBI's investigation of ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Comey's memo - an apparent effort to create a paper trail of his contacts with the White House - would be evidence that president has tried to influence the investigation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the ongoing scandal around President Trump sharing classified intelligence with Russian officials as "political schizophrenia."

Trump came under fire earlier this week after it was revealed that he shared the sensitive intelligence with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak.

Speaking at a joint news conference with the visiting Italian prime minister on Wednesday, Putin said he had "no other explanation" as to why Trump came under attack other than "political schizophrenia." Putin even suggested that Russia share the records of last week's talks between Trump and Lavrov with the U.S. Congress, if the White House approved.

Putin joked that that he would reprimand Lavrov because "he hasn't shared those secrets with us."

U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement:

“It’s past time that a special counsel has been appointed to conduct this investigation. Director Mueller is a career public servant who has shown integrity and commitment to upholding the law, without political agenda. While we are still learning about the extent of the special counsel’s full scope of authority, I welcome this first step and urge the DOJ to ensure that Mr. Mueller has the resources and ability to conduct the investigation thoroughly, impartially, and without threat of retaliation.”

You can help the Food Bank of Northern Nevada this month by donating to Run on Tuna. The annual fundraiser aims to collect about 10,000 cans of tuna every September and they're hoping to do that again this year.

You can help the Food Bank of Northern Nevada this month by donating to Run on Tuna. The annual fundraiser aims to collect about 10,000 cans of tuna every September and they're hoping to do that again this year.